Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Fall Of Public Opinion: The Tet Offensive, The Anti-War Movement, And The Media, 1963-1975, Taylor Ann Cusick

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

From 1963 to 1975, public opinion regarding the Vietnam War changed drastically. In the beginning, the public was largely on board with Americans going overseas to fight against the North Vietnamese military. Citizens felt the American military was doing what was necessary to secure democracy in a region where communism was spreading, and the public was not easily swayed by those who opposed the war. The media mirrored public opinion during the first years of the war. By 1968, support for the war declined dramatically, and the media’s portrayal of the conflict reversed. Newscasters began to argue that the risk …

The Railsplitter And The Pathfinder: The Relationship Between Abraham Lincoln And John C. Frémont, Kourtney Yantis

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study serves as an analysis of the connections between Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and John Charles Frémont as a Civil War general. Lincoln’s position within history is solid, unlike that of John C. Frémont. The thesis will elevate Frémont to a higher status as a historical figure by arguing that the emancipation edict that he issued for Missouri in August of 1861 would influence Abraham Lincoln’s preliminary emancipation proclamation of September 1862, even though Lincoln repealed Frémont’s decree. In biographies of each man, their interactions are merely a small part of the stories of their …

A Conflict Of Disinterest: The Problem Of Party In The Early American Republic, Darren Morgan

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the lost classical republican virtue of disinterestedness—its early role in the nation’s founding, its eventual subordination to partisanship, and its enduring legacy in the realm of politics. Two seminal documents shaped Americans’ early ideas regarding disinterestedness, namely James Madison’s Federalist, No. 10 and George Washington’s “Farewell Address;” however, these cornerstones of impartial politics built upon a long history of classical republican thought from both ancient Rome and mother England. The eventual impracticality of such a virtue quickly gave way to a more enticing and interested form of politics in the early republic—one where lines were rapidly …

A Workers' Paradise: Re-Integrating Newfoundland Into Colonial American History, Elena Hynes

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The island of Newfoundland is conspicuous in colonial British and North American histories, most particularly and paradoxically, in its absence, a state of affairs which this study aims to help address. Multiple factors, including a paucity of documentary sources and various historiographic trends, have traditionally contributed to Newfoundland’s marginalization within colonial historical narratives. However, developments in recent years have made Newfoundland’s potential integration into the broader colonial dialogue more feasible including the advent of the Atlantic perspective, the expansion of available sources, and the work of multiple regional historians who have challenged enduring historiographic trends characterizing Newfoundland colonial settlements as …

Systemic Constraints On Potus Foreign Policy, Dan Hodges

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify the environment that presidents operate within to develop international relationship goals. The environment itself forms a system which exerts a great influence, is largely responsible for, and expresses the foreign policies that presidents choose. Five elements define this system: the geopolitical situation, the actions of the prior administration, Congress, the election cycle, and the American domestic situation (GPACED). This work demarcates the elements of GPACED, and their potential impacts on polices, and demonstrates its influence through five historical case studies spanning six presidential administrations. The National Security Act of 1947, and its …

Into The West And Back Out Again: An Examination Of Cultural And Social Exchange In The Gilded Age United States, Samantha Mcdonald

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to provide a historical analysis of American culture and society at the turn of the twentieth-century, challenging the conceptualization of social isolation, cultural subjectivity, and urban conflict of the rural Midwest. Detailed research utilizes a synthesized mixture of primary sources, contemporary to the Gilded Age, and a volume of scholastic analysis of Midwestern and American history to establish the significance of rural, Midwest communities in the development of social and cultural standards in the United States. A flipped historical focus shifts the rural Midwest from an urban periphery to the center and nexus of …

The Effects Of The Third Reform Act On Political Activity And Organization In Industrial Britain, 1886-1906., Michael S. Vernon

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The Third Reform Act doubled the size of the British electorate by extending the urban franchise reform of 1867 into the counties. The Act also called for a redistribution of seats in Parliament which eliminated most multi-member constituencies and replace them with single-member constituencies. These reforms changed the political landscape resulting in a more democratic electorate. The twenty years following the Third Reform Act are characterized by a Conservative ascendancy, which saw Conservatives take power and control British politics for the next generation. This Conservative ascendancy was possible because of the increased importance of public opinion in the electoral calculus …

Gladstonian Liberalism: A Catalyst For Social Representation And Democratic Reform In Victorian Britain, Jason Belcher

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to discuss the significance of William Gladstone and his political administration which demonstrated a unique approach to social representation in nineteenth-century Britain. Most of the research for this thesis focused on historians who examine both the variable nature of the term democracy in Victorian Britain as well as Gladstone’s bureaucratic achievements as an MP. A large portion of the thesis employs information extracted from nineteenth-century British newspapers to convey the firsthand viewpoints of Britain’s political administration. Secondly, a plethora of modern perspectives provide varying outlooks on Gladstonian Liberalism as a gradually progressive form of …

African American Women And The Women's Suffrage Movement In Knoxville, Tn, Ashley B. Farrington

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and despite the fact that white women often discriminated against them, African American women across the United States worked to obtain voting rights for all women. Nationally, black women used the African American club movement and their experiences in church benevolent societies to advocate for women’s suffrage. In some cases, however, a widespread and thriving club movement did not lead to suffrage activities. In Knoxville, Tennessee, there is no evidence that the clubwomen participated in the suffrage movement. This thesis outlines the specific social conditions that caused to black clubwomen’s lack of …

The March Of The Union Armies: James Henry Lane, The Union, And The Development Of Total War On The Kansas-Missouri Border, Alex Lahasky

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

James Henry Lane was a giant of Kansas politics during the mid-nineteenth century. His leadership during the territorial crisis of 1855—commonly known as the “Bleeding Kansas” era—contributed mightily to Kansas’s entry as a free state in 1861. During the early stages of the ensuing Civil War, Lane’s political and military presence on the plains was ubiquitous; he served simultaneously as a United States Senator and a brigadier general of the Union Army. Lane’s activities during the first year of the war provide the focal point of the present study.

With Kansas under threat from secessionist elements in neighboring Missouri, Lane …

Settlement In The Old Northwest Frontier And The Merging Of Culture, 1750 -1790, Sandra K. Ellefsen

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

SETTLEMENT IN THE OLD NORTHWEST FRONTIER

AND THE MERGING OF CULTURE, 1750 -1790

An Abstract of the Thesis by Sandra Ellefsen

During the late 1700s, the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountain Chain became the main corridor that precipitated settlement into Kentucky. Along this frontier line, settlers had to contend with various Native American tribes, and settlement on the frontier from the beginning of colonization irrevocably altered the Native American way of life. Warfare, encroachment, and disease caused the Native American population to decline drastically in the process of contact; often as a result, Native tribes chose to adopt many …

Civil Wars In The Capital: Civil Affairs In The Defenses Of Washington, 1861-1863, Blake M. Lindsey

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the relationships between civilians and soldiers in the Defenses of Washington during the Civil War. Marked by a combination of conflict and adaptation, the visible tension between soldiers and civilians threatened Union loyalty around Washington. Differing identities and priorities caused these conflicts. Young soldiers steeped in a Northern education that cast the South as an enemy thought slavery and associations with Maryland marked Washington’s rural outskirts as an enemy territory. This dynamic, along with material needs, led soldiers to frequently take private property without compensation, known as foraging. Furthermore, soldiers adopted new identities and social groups that …

A Time Of Change: Public Education In Galena, Illinois During The Postwar Era, Brett H. Noble

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The years after World War II brought profound changes to American society. The expansion of government power, the influence of experts, and the demand to conform joined with technological innovations to revamp institutions throughout the United States. Public education underwent sweeping changes during this time. The revision of tax codes, curriculum initiatives, and improved transportation brought about the end of the one-room schoolhouse.

In Galena, Illinois, a small city in the state’s northwestern corner, the school system emerged from the war years in need of reform. Overcrowded schools and a skeletal and outdated curriculum brought calls from residents for improvement. …

Mythbusting Park Chung Hee: A Reexamination Of Park And His Coup, Justin Malzac

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Park Chung-Hee is a divisive figure. For some he is a saint that rescued his country from the brink of collapse and helped it rise into modernity. For others he is a devil, an iron-fisted dictator who cared more about his own power than his people. Both of these are politically slanted myths promoted as part of a corresponding political agenda. But even politically neutral writings on Park unwittingly conduct a mythmaking of their own. This paper is an attempt to show that Park Chung-Hee has become a mythological figure in Korean history because the scope of his power, agency …

Kansas City, Missouri's Municipal Impact On Housing Segregation, Robert Neil Cooper

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Throughout Kansas City Missouri’s history, the parks and boulevards system, restrictive covenants, real estate and lending practices, urban redevelopment, public housing, and racial steering have contributed to the establishment and continuance of housing segregation. Although historians have studied these main types of housing segregation and the federal government’s actions thoroughly, little work exists to show how Kansas City, Missouri’s municipal government has influenced housing segregation. By examining Kansas City’s municipal response to the aforementioned types of segregation, it is clear that city officials have taken steps to both aid and discourage segregationist housing practices. Although municipal agencies, like the Commission …

"Arouse, Ye Slaves!": The Bill Haywood Trial, The Clash Of Organized Labor And Capital In The West, And The Influence Of The Appeal To Reason, William Toombs

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The trial for the murder of a controversial ex-governor of Idaho represented a watershed moment in American labor history, especially in the West. The accused, three men who had been involved with the leadership of a predominantly western labor union, had been questionably extradited from Colorado to Idaho, causing a firestorm within the pro-labor forces. This public uproar and denunciation eventually caught the attention of sitting President Theodore Roosevelt, who became an unexpected and unwanted mouthpiece for concentrated capital. Ultimately, as this case came to occupy almost every major newspaper in the country, it illustrated the fierce and deadly clashes …

Conservatives And The End Of The Draft, Shad Ashcroft

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

While conservatives of all stripes generally supported the Vietnam War, particularly at its onset, I will show that the debate to end conscription reveals a rift between traditional conservatives who supported the draft and libertarian conservatives who opposed it (while generally supporting the war). Furthermore, though they shared the goal of ending the draft, libertarian conservatives and New Left protesters agreed on little else. The protesters' primary goal was to prevent future wars like Vietnam. Conservatives, on the other hand, embraced the all-volunteer army in part to maintain executive branch independence in foreign affiars.

"If De Babies Cried": Slave Motherhood In Antebellum Missouri, Lucy Phelps Hamilton

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Slavery in Missouri was typically small-scale in nature and featured smallholdings possessing few slaves. Situated on the periphery of the South and the western border of the antebellum United States, Missouri, even after achieving statehood, remained a frontier. This small-scale frontier environment provides an opportunity for the close examination of slave motherhood. Focusing on slave motherhood through the lens of small-scale slavery in Missouri, I am able to closely examine the day-to-day lives of these women and focus on their common experiences as mothers living in bondage. This in turn paints a broader picture of typical slave mother experiences in …

Yes Horray! Yes Horray! Yes Horray! For Temperance!: A Relation Of Mining And The Temperance Movement In Joplin, Missouri, Linda Kristina Gooch

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the history of Joplin, Missouri in its development from a mining camp to a boomtown. The solace miners found for their anxieties within Joplin’s saloons demonstrates the community’s willingness to profit from the afflictions of its citizens. City leaders remained indifferent to the circumstances of intemperance because of the revenue generated by liquor license fees and fines for liquor law violations. Prostitution, an activity associated with drinking, provided revenue as women paid fines and returned to work to face fines once again. Madams paid fines for selling liquor from brothels and then continued to serve their clients. …

Gladys-On-The-Prairie: The Effect Of Social And Environmental Forces On The Identity And Life Of Dr. Gladys C. Galligar, Desiree M.E. King

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Twentieth century Americans recognized problems created by both the subjected status women held by society and the harmful impact humanity had on natural resources and domains. America’s search for realization and solutions for the inherent problems associated with the devaluation of women and nature did not come quickly or easily; it took a path that wound around both traditional concepts and progressive insights. I argue in this thesis that the biography of Dr. Gladys C. Galligar demonstrates, on an intimate level, America’s dawning awareness of the necessity of a healthier environment and a more egalitarian society. As a biology researcher …

Types Of Mankind: Polygenism And Scientific Racism In The Nineteenth Century United States Scientific Community., Robert A. Smith

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of American scientists known collectively as the “American School” of ethnology challenged the validity of the biblical story of creation. They proposed that, contrary to the teaching of Genesis, there had been a number of separate divine acts of creation, leading to the appearance of more than one human species within the genus homo. They ranked the species, also known as varieties or races, in terms of relative superiority, with the Caucasian in the highest position of all.

I argue in my thesis that the rise of the American School was a defining moment …

The Search For A Greater Truth: Religion And Philosophy In Roman Egypt, Dana F. Michael

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

When Cleopatra VII Philopator took her own life after Egypt’s defeat at Actium an empire died as the legend was born. Egypt, ruled by the Macedonian Ptolemys for three hundred years, was now a province of the Roman Empire. This death is more a political fiction of Rome’s, however, than any kind of real defeat. For while the government ran as that of a Roman territory, Egypt’s influence on the Mediterranean world and beyond was extensive.

Egypt was the grain basket of Rome, so the Emperors kept a close eye on the country. Romans of all classes, from governors to …

An Analysis Of Osa Johnson - Noted Female Explorer, Frederick Michael Mccreedy

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

"An Analysis of Osa Johnson Noted Female Explorer" examines the life of the wife of famed African explorer Martin Elmer Johnson. It is the story of a love affair between two people who also shared a mutual love of animals and nature. Osa was initially the concerned wife who looked out after her husband and attempted to safeguard their lives in the early years of this century in a continent fraught with dangerous carnivores and instant death at every imaginable corner. She progressed from this to a position of leadership, shared with her husband, as they truly became a team …

Agenda-Setting And International News: New York Times Editorials On The 1989 Chinese Student Demonstration In Tainanmen [Sic] Square, Yung-Yi Tang

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study attempted to explore a new dimension of the agenda-setting theory by examining the positions of the New York Times and the Bush Administration with regards to China policy in 1989. Content-analysis was applied to the New York Times editorials and the weekly compilation of Presidential Documents. Results of the content-analysis indicated that, regarding China policy during 1989, the New York Times had a negative perception towards China and Chinese policies in general, also the New York Times expressed neutral or no attitude towards the Bush Administration's China policy most of the time. However, when the New York Times …

The Heritage Of Faith: An Historical Evaluation Of The Holiness Movement In America, Craig Charles Fankhauser

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This work traces the holiness movement from the Biblical Day of Pentecost, when the disciples of Christ first received the Holy Spirit, to the founding of independent holiness denominations in the first two decades of the twentieth century. In the eighteenth century the main emphasis of this perfectionists movement centered around the teachings of an Anglican priest, John Wesley. Wesleyan doctrine stressed two distinct religious experiences--justification (God forgiving individuals their sins) and sanctification. The latter cleansed the believer's heart from original sin and made him ready for heaven.

American holiness proponents founded the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1784 and in …

D. J. "Joe" Saia: The Padrone Of Crawford County Politics, Steven K. Baden

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

D. J. "Joe" Saia, of Frontenac, Kansas, has been county commissioner and the leader of the Democratic Party in Crawford County, Kansas, for the past three decades. An unemployed coal miner with an eighth-grade education, the county commissioner from Frontenac came from the bottom of the social pyramid. He was able, through his adaptability, tenacity, basic understanding of human nature, and undying concern for those in need, to fight his way to the position of chairman of the Crawford County Board of Commissioners and the leader of a successful political organization.

The road to power was not an easy path, …

American Involvement And Policy During The Suez Crisis - 1956, Thomas M. Riley

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

"The Suez Canal has been a blessing and a curse. Perhaps since the digging of the Canal began in 1859 and after its completion in 1869, it has been subjected to more controversies than any other construction project in history".¹

The Suez Canal, in Egyptian territory between the Arabian Desert and the Siani peninsula, is an artificial waterway 103 miles long, between Port Said on the Mediterranean and Suez on the Red Sea. "Crossing the isthmus between Asia and Africa, the Canal's geographic location has made its strategic value in international affairs greater than that of any other maritime …

The Migration Of Negro Coal Miners From Alabama To Southeast Kansas In 1899, John M. Robb

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The Negro emerging from slavery after the Civil War was faced with the problem of making a living as a freeman. The only salable asset he had was his labor. In certain areas of the South, the Negro had turned by 1870, to mining bituminous coal. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, conditions in the coal mines of greater Birmingham, Alabama, reached such a state that a number of Negroes felt it imperative to remove themselves.

In 1899, a number of these Negroes migrated to Crawford and Cherokee counties of Southeastern Kansas to mine coal. Their arrival was …

The American Nonconformist And Kansas Industrial Liberator: A Kansas Union Labor-Populist Newspaper, 1886-1891, Charles Richard Denton

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The impetus for this study grew from another paper completed in April, 1957, entitled, "The Populist Party in Kansas," written for a class in American History. References to a Winfield, Kansas, newspaper, The American Nonconformist and Kansas Industrial Liberator, edited by Henry and Leo Vincent, appeared from time to time during the research. The Republicans in 1888 charged that the newspaper advocated anarchism; in 1890, however, the paper was a leading Populist journal. The charges grew out of a state-wide expose of a secret organization within the Union Labor party which involved the Nonconformist. The Republicans' assertions gained weight with …

The Development Of The Latin American Policy Of Cordell Hull, Francis Mccorkill

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis discusses the formulation by Secretary of State Cordell Hull of the “Good Neighbor” policy in United States-Latin American relations between 1933-1937. After providing the background of United States’ relations with Latin America before 1933 and the background of Cordell Hull, the thesis discusses first the conference held in Montevideo. This conference presented an opportunity for Mr. Hull to meet personally the Latin American countries and to enunciate the new American policy of non-intervention and friendship. The discussion of the new non-intervention policy includes both the abrogation of treaties which gave the United States the right to intervene and …